U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath scored a lopsided victory Tuesday night in her 7th District Democratic primary battle against incumbent U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux.
The 61-year-old McBath secured at least 33,442 votes (63.04%) on primary day in Georgia, according to the secretary of state’s office, giving her a wide enough margin to avoid a runoff this summer.
Bordeaux came in a distant second with 16,262 votes (30.66%). State Rep. Donna McLeod received 3,344 votes (6.30%), state records show. Several media outlets, have called the race in McBath’s favor.
McBath is set to take on whoever wins the 7th District Republican primary race, which is headed for a runoff this summer due to none of the candidates receiving more than 50% of the votes cast Tuesday.
She’ll likely be favored to win in an increasingly diverse, majority-minority district that has become safe territory for Democrats after state GOP lawmakers’ redistricting efforts.
McBath is the two-term 6th District representative who became a prominent anti-gun violence advocate after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot by an armed vigilante in 2012.
She thanked her supporters from the anti-gun violence group known as Moms Demand Action while delivering a triumphant yet somber victory speech just before midnight on Tuesday in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“I thank every one of you that are in this room tonight because you sent this mom on a mission to Congress,” McBath said during an election night watch party Tuesday night. “This night isn’t the end of an election, but the beginning of the change that each and every one of us must be.”
Bourdeaux congratulated McBath on her victory Tuesday night during a concession speech that cited the “millions in outside cryptocurrency super PAC money” that McBath reportedly received ahead of the election.
“My campaign was based on showing up and meeting the needs of our community,” Bourdeaux said Tuesday in remarks emailed later to Capital B. “I am very grateful for the volunteers, staff, and constituents that powered our movement and will be vital to defeating extremist Republicans in November.”
McBath was first elected to serve the 6th District in 2018.
The two-time breast cancer survivor who lives in Marietta opted to run against Bourdeaux in her neighboring district after Georgia Republicans redrew the boundaries of McBath’s district to favor GOP candidates.
